


Cute Faces Must Be Hiding Something

by Waiting_For_The_Sun



Category: Gintama
Genre: Crossdressing, Delinquents, Falling In Love, Gintoki is an idiot, High School, Love at First Sight, M/M, Misunderstandings, Unrequited Love, Wet Dream, rival gangs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-26
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:21:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22906171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Waiting_For_The_Sun/pseuds/Waiting_For_The_Sun
Summary: Gintoki always thought love at first sight was just an idea shoujo manga sold to girls to make money. At least, that's what he thought until it hit him like a bottle of mayo to the face. Wait, what? Did his first love really just throw mayo at him and run off? What kind of love story is this?
Relationships: Hijikata Toshirou & Sakata Gintoki, Hijikata Toshirou/Sakata Gintoki
Comments: 51
Kudos: 155





	1. Chapter 1

For the first time in his life, Sakata Gintoki was in love. He was sure of it. Spring time had finally come, both metaphorically and literally. Why else could he not stop thinking about that girl from the alley? Almost a week ago on a warm Sunday evening, Gintoki had just left the convenience store with a few cartons of strawberry milk and Jump ready to head home, when he overheard some sleazy men trying to pick up a girl in a nearby alley. Two big and flashy looking men had backed against the brick wall a rather tall girl, with long, black pigtails wearing a Shinsengumi Academy sailor uniform. Even though Shinsengumi Academy was only about two miles from Kabukicho High, there seemed to be an unspoken rule between the two schools that kept the students from each on their respective side of the Edo prefecture. It was unusual to see someone with that uniform on his turf. _'Is she new around here?'_ Gintoki casually thought to himself, watching the scene in front of him.

"Why don't you come hang out with us for a bit, princess? We'll show you a good time." one of the men said, reaching out his hand to grab onto her arm. Gintoki was about to run in to her defense, but before he could, the girl said, "Don't touch me, asshole," as she shoved off his arm with a voice lower than expected. In a matter of seconds, she had sent that man flying into the opposite wall with a strong punch to the chest. A satisfying groan of pain was heard as he slid from the wall to the ground. Turning to the other man, she threw an uppercut to his jaw and followed up with a side kick to his stomach, knocking him into his friend. For a moment, the girl just huffed, dusted off her uniform, and leaned down to grab a plastic bag from the same convenience store Gintoki was just at. The girl turned to walk out of the alley when she gasped, startled, having not noticed him standing there before. For some reason, the girl lowered her head and pointedly looked at the ground, the movement bringing her V-shaped bangs down and hid her eyes. Even in the dark of the alley, the neon lights from the street shined down on her, making her look like she was glowing. Getting a better look at her now that she wasn't being cornered, Gintoki thought she was pretty. Like, _really_ pretty.

His heart skipped a beat. 

"Um, I'd ask if you were okay, but clearly you didn't need any help defending yourself, haha." Gintoki said, awkwardly. His free arm not carrying his bag came up to scratch absently at the back of his head. "If you don't feel safe, I could walk you home or something. It's gotten pretty dark, and a cute girl like you probably has to deal with all kinds of creeps. Wait, does it make me a creep for offering to walk you home when we don't know each other? I'm not a creep or anything, my name's Gintoki and-" before he could finish, the girl cut him off.

"I don't need your help, idiot!" she said with her voice sounding oddly higher than before. Gintoki thought maybe she lowered it earlier on purpose to sound more intimidating, but before he could ask, she started digging around in her bag, and the next thing he knew something came flying at his head dead on.

"Aa tah taa~" he groaned out in pain, his eyes squeezing shut for a few moments as his hand came up to his face to assess the damages. When he opened his eyes again, Gintoki watched as the girl ran past him, face bright red, clutching the bag to her chest with her pig tails flying behind her as she kept running for two or three blocks before turning out of his sight. 

Gintoki stared down the street, wondering what the hell just happened, and why was it making his heart beat fast. He guessed the girl didn't believe him about not being a creep, which was understandable considering what she just went through. _'But if she thought I was another creep, why didn't she just punch me like she did with the other two?_ _Why was she blushing?'_ Gintoki thought to himself as he was about to turn and go home, when his foot knocked into the object the girl had thrown at him. He bent down to pick it up, and his eyebrows knitted in confusion. _'Mayonnaise? Are girls now into this stuff?'_ He just shrugged, and placed it in his own bag before walking home, hoping that next time he saw her he could ask all the questions on his mind. 

* * *

Hijikata was fucked. Absolutely _fucked_. Humiliated. Embarrassed. Ready to run off to the countryside and start a new life. By the time he made it back to Sougo's house from the convenience store, Hijikata was covered in sweat from running nonstop. He rushed in through the door, chucked his shoes off, dropped the bag on the coffee table in front of the couch where his friends were seated playing a different video game than before, and marched over to the bathroom slamming the door shut behind him, not giving Kondou or Sougo a chance to ask how it went. After throwing the uniform off and putting back on his regular clothes, he looked in the mirror before grimacing at the two pigtails on his head, took the ribbons off and hair ties out, then collected his hair again to put in his typical high ponytail. Once he deemed himself to look back to normal again, Hijikata let out a sigh he didn't realize he was holding in. 

He was _never_ playing a punishment game ever again. Out of all the people in the Edo prefecture he could have run into, it just had to be Sakata Gintoki. Not only was he leader of the rival gang at Kabukicho High, but was also the guy he was secretly in love with. Hijikata was mortified that he was seen in such a shameful outfit, and prayed to every god out there that he wasn't recognized. It was all because Sougo suggested making a punishment for the loser of Mario Kart, one of the usual video games they would play whenever they hung out outside of school. Kondou had just laughed and easily agreed to the suggestion, while Hijikata agreed thinking there was no way in hell he would lose. After all, Kondou was usually the worst at Mario Kart, so he didn't have anything to worry about. At least he _thought_ he didn't, until both Sougo and Kondou blue shelled him twice making him last place. 

"Aha ha, sorry Toushi! I couldn't hold back, if you don't use the blue shell it just goes to waste, ya know?" Kondou explained, with a good-natured smile. Hijikata sighed in response. It was always hard for him to be mad at Kondou. Sougo, on the other hand, was always finding a new way to piss him off.

"Kondou-san, what should we make Hijikata-san do as a punishment?" Sougo said with a more sinister smile. Hijikata mentally shivered thinking about all the possible punishments that sadist probably had in mind for him. Kondou closed his eyes in thought and let out a small hum, as if this was something that needed to be well thought out. A few moments passed before Kondou opened his eyes wide exclaiming an "Aha!"

"Now Toushi... You know we've been friends forever, and there's something I've always wanted to ask you to do but knew you would kill me for even suggesting it," Kondou started, making Hijikata gulp in slight worry. "Since we were kids you've been growing out your hair, and well... I kinda want to see if you would look pretty dressed up as a girl" he finished, trailing the end of his words off in a rush. Hijikata's jaw dropped in shock, and Sougo started laughing so hard he fell over from his seat on the couch to the floor clutching at his sides. "That's perfect Kondou-san," Sougo said, still laughing on the floor. "He can wear some of Mituba's old clothes that she left behind." Mistuba had just graduated from Shinsengumi Academy the semester before, and had moved out to an apartment near her new university. Even though it had only been about a month since she left, the Okita household felt different without her presence. Now Hijikata had no one to keep Sougo under control when his sadistic tendencies flared up. Sougo got up to head upstairs to Mistuba's old bedroom, and Hijikata snapped out of his shock.

"Oi, Kondou-san. Why the hell do you want to see me dressed as a girl?" Hijikata questioned, sending him a glare. "Don't take it the wrong way Toushi~, I just think you would look pretty as a girl! You've always had nice skin and hair... well, not as nice as _Otae-san's_. She has nice everything-" at the mention of Otae, Hijikata tuned him out knowing Kondou would start ranting on about how much he loves that girl, as he usually does whenever he brings her up. 

Sougo came back down the stairs trying to contain his laughter while holding up Mistuba's old school uniform. "This was the only thing she left. I think it'll suit you, Hijikata-chan." He said and threw the garment over. Hijikata grabbed it, and got up heading over to the closest bathroom to change, mumbling to himself about how he was definitely not going to lose next time. "Not so fast Hijikata-chan, you need to change your hair too, to match the outfit. Put it in pigtails to look like a real school girl." Sougo called out, dangling two red ribbons in his hand with a sadistic smile and look in his eye. Hijikata flush, both in anger and embarrassment, as he walked over and snatched the ribbons and made a beeline for the bathroom, slamming the door shut. 

Once he changed clothes and fixed his hair into a pair of twin tails, Hijikata took a moment to really look at himself in this new ensemble. He _did_ look pretty as a girl--not that he would ever admit it to anyone. The two ribbons in his hair matched perfectly to the red necktie of the uniform, and while the top somehow fit snug, the supposed-to-be knee length skirt was way too short, resting just halfway down his thighs due to his height. If he weren't wearing briefs, his underwear would have definitely been showing. 

"Oi~ Hijikata-chan~ it's been like ten minutes, hurry up and come out." Sougo yelled out towards the bathroom from his seat on the couch with a camera hidden and ready. Hijikata just huffed in reply as he opened the door, definitely _not_ pouting with his arms folded across his chest as he walked back out to the living room. "Alright, alright. It's on. Get a good look so I can change out of it." he said, wanting to get it over with as soon as possible.

"You look so cute, Toushi!!" Kondou cried, running over and scooping him up into a hug. "I feel like my little girl is all grown up! Papa's gonna have to fight off tons of guys that'll try to take you away from me~" he said, squeezing Hijikata even tighter in his embrace. "Oi, Kondou-san, who are you calling a little girl, huh? Who are you calling papa?" Hijikata wheezed out as Kondou continued to crush him in his arms. 

"Now, now Hijikata-chan~ it wouldn't be much of a punishment for you to only wear it for a few minutes, would it?" Sougo said, chillingly. "Go out to one of the convenience stores near Kabukicho High and buy some snacks since we're almost out." With that said, Kondou released him from his stronghold of a hug and agreed that they were in desperate need of more snacks. "You can't be serious. You really want me to go out in this? What if someone from the Kabukicho gang sees me, our gang will be laughing stalks! No one will take us seriously!" Hijikata said defensively, dreading the thought of running into any one of their rivals. "Don't get your panties in a twist; just don't get caught, or if you do just knock 'em out. It's simple... Unless, maybe, you're too scared to go out? Is that it? Poor Hijikata-chan is afraid of some bad boy delinquents~" Sougo teased, knowing exactly how to rile him up. 

"I'm not afraid, bastard!" Hijikata yelled out, reaching for his wallet before heading to the door to put on his shoes. "I'm choosing the snacks, no complaining on what I pick." With that said, he was out the door marching his way towards the shops near Kabukicho High before he could second guess his decision. 

.

Except he _really_ should have second guessed his decision. Hell, why did he even go all the way to the stores near Kabukicho High when he could have gone to the one five minutes from here and they would've been none the wiser. ' _It's the same chain of convenience stores, they wouldn't be able to tell. I could've just waited outside to make it seem like I went all the way there_ , _I-'_

A knock on the bathroom door brought him out of his panicked thoughts and self-reflection. "Toushi, are you okay? Did you get caught in the uniform? I once tried to put on Otae-san's uniform when she wasn't home, and the skirt zipper got stuck on my boxers-" Hijikata immediately opened the bathroom door, cutting off Kondou before he could finish his stalker story. "I'm fine, I'm not caught in the uniform. I just... ran into some trouble outside of the convenience store, that's all. I took care of it." 

"See! Papa knew there would be some boys that would try to come after you! You're just too cute as a girl Toushi~" Kondou said, eyes shining as if he really were a proud dad of a beautiful daughter. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I'm never doing that again." Hijikata replied, walking over to the couch and plopping down, ready to go back to playing some games to take his crossdressing experience out of his mind.

"I'm surprised you didn't buy any mayo, Hijikata-chan." Sougo said after emptying out the contents of the plastic bag onto the coffee table in front of them. "Uh, yeah. I was going to, but they were all out. And stop calling me Hijikata-chan!" He retorted. A moment passed before Sougo said, “Is that so." looking at Hijikata like he knew he was lying, but didn't press any further.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, okay. This is my first ever fanfic, so any feedback would be appreciated!  
> I've recently rekindled my love for Gintama and Ginhiji, and the ideas for fics keep flowing in my mind so I thought I might as well write them down lol.  
> This probably won't be a super long fic, maybe like 4 chapters (?) since I'm still new to writing, but I already have the next chapter in progress and have a clear idea of an ending. I just wanted a cute high school love story for them, but with a classic delinquent/rival gangs type setting. I'll explain more of the high school background and gang dynamics in the next chapter, but I feel like you can probably guess which characters are gonna be in which gang and stuff.


	2. Chapter 2

Even though more than a week has passed since his first encounter with Pigtails-chan, the nickname for her since he didn’t know her name, he had not seen her at all. Anywhere. Gintoki had wandered all around Edo since the eventful night, hoping to run into that girl again with no such luck. He had been hoping there would be a next time for them running into each other, all ready to ask her the same questions that had gone through his head when they first met, and some new ones too, like _‘_ _are you single?’_ and _‘can I get your number?’_

His friends were starting to get concerned with him too. Gintoki knew it was a bad idea to keep wandering over on Shinsengumi turf, especially being who he was, but how else was he going to see his beloved Pigtail-chan? She obviously went to the rival school, and was probably warned about not coming over to the Kabukicho side after being ganged up on. Gintoki convinced himself that’s why he hadn't seen her; she was just being _extra_ cautious about going outside to avoid running into creeps and stalkers, which was definitely _not_ what Gintoki was at this point. Not one bit. 

At school during their lunch hour, his friends had decided to drag him to the school rooftop for an intervention. “Gintoki, you know what wandering around on their turf could mean for us. Eventually that Gorilla and his underlings are gonna notice and take it as provoking a war. I’m not willing to fight them just because you have your head in the clouds looking for some girl. You’re our leader, remember? Your priority should be to the gang.” Katsura said, scolding him with a serious face. A year ago when Katsura had befriended Ikumatsu, the owner’s daughter of their favorite ramen shop, he had completely changed his stance on violence to only fighting when it was necessary. Clearly he thought a girl Gintoki barely knew was not worth fighting about.

“Zura, does it matter if it’s about a girl? We haven’t had a good fight in a while; let Gintoki do what he wants, and if a fight breaks out, then so be it.” Takasugi chimed in. Unlike Katsura, he was always ready for a fight, and has been waiting for something to happen to spark one.

“It’s not Zura, it’s Katsura!” he yelled. “And you can’t serious want to go fight over something as dumb as this? Where’s your pride and honor as a samurai?”

“Pride and honor, my ass!” Takasugi yelled back. “We started this gang back in primary school because we were all constantly getting into fights with kids at Shinsengumi Academy, and ever since we started high school over a year ago and the peace agreement was made, we haven’t had a single fight. You’re telling me you’re okay with this? Just avoiding each other’s turf to avoid a fight even though fighting is in our blood? This is our chance for something big to happen.”

“Oi, oi, both of you calm down. It’s not that big of a deal, I’m not gonna cause a fight, alright? Geez, I finally found a girl I’m interested in and you all act like it’s gonna end with an all out war. Who cares if she goes to our rival school? Why can’t you just be happy for me, ahn? Can’t we just act like normal high school boys for once and talk about xxx, and ******, and a bit of !#$@%? Does it always have to be about the gang?” Gintoki complained, fed up with Katsura and Takasugi’s back and forth. Yeah he was the leader of their gang, but it’s not like he asked to be! They’re the ones that decided it, and he just went along with it. And to hell with the gang, getting Pigtails-chan to go out with him was his number one priority as a healthy seventeen year old boy!

“Aha ha ha! Kintoki! I’ve never seen you so hung up on some chick before, ha ha! Is she really that hot?” Sakamoto said while laughing his head off and trying to eat his sandwich at the same time, causing him to start choking on it while the other three just watched him struggle, matching bored expressions across their faces. Finally swallowing his food properly, he yelled, “Hey! Why didn’t anyone try to help me? Do you guys hate me that much, Aha ha ha! It’s not funny, Mustu would kill me if I choked to death! You know how scary she can be when she’s mad, ha ha!”

Katsura just sighed and turned back to say, “Anyway, Gintoki. Think about what you’re doing. If this girl really means that much to you, as my comrade I’ll support you to the end. But remember who you are; if she were to find out that you’re the fearsome Shiroyasha, do you think she would give you a chance? Or maybe she already knows, and that’s why she ran away from you. Just be careful not to scare her into stirring up unwanted drama.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let me live out my youth, won’t you? It’ll be fine.” Gintoki replied. Sticking a finger in his nose and turning to stare off the rooftop, he watched as the wind picked up, carrying light pink sakura blossom petals through the air. It was a new spring, a new school year, and a new chapter in his life to focus on love. He was going to see that girl again, no matter what. 

. 

The school day went on like usual, and as soon as it ended, he gave his friends the slip so he could hurry home before going out to look for Pigtails-chan. Every time he went out to _accidentally_ run into her, Gintoki always made sure to change out of the Kabukicho High blazer uniform and into some casual clothing with a baseball hat so he wouldn’t draw any attention to himself. Despite what his friends might think, he was careful! 

Though yet again, his quest to find Pigtails-chan ended with the same results. Nothing. The sun was low in the sky when Gintoki started to walk back home from Shinsengumi turf, feeling defeated but still not discouraged. He turned a corner out of the random neighborhood he was wandering through, when he suddenly crashed into someone, knocking them to the ground. When he saw exactly who he had run into, the apology he was about to offer died in his throat, and instead he sputtered out: “Pigtails-chan!? Is that really you? I’ve been looking for--uh, I mean hoping I would run into you again, but not like, literally, ha ha... Ah, are you okay? Sorry, let me help you up.” Gintoki leaned down to offer his hand, but the girl didn’t make a move to take it. She just sat frozen on the ground not looking at him. _‘Well this is awkward’_ he thought, hoping he hadn’t just blown his chances by knocking her over. 

“What-” She started, but then coughed. “What the hell are you doing here?” She said, her voice still sounding oddly high like it did the last time they spoke. She made a move to get up, but noticing the content of her convenience store bag was spilled out, hurriedly reached out collecting the items and shoved them back in before getting to her feet. Gintoki watched her grab a bottle of mayo, and recalled the object she chucked at him before. Instead of replying to her question, unsure of how to respond in a way that wouldn’t make him seem like a stalker, he started rambling: “So, uh. Are girls these days into mayo? You threw a mayo bottle at me last time, and I noticed you have one now. Is it some new fad diet, ha ha? Wait, I mean, not that you _need_ to diet, or anything. Your body looks _really_ great by the way--I mean, um,” Before Gintoki could stick his foot even farther down his throat, the girl cut him off by getting something out of her bag and throwing it at his face. Without even having to look, Gintoki already knew it was the damn mayo bottle. 

As he groaned in pain, the girl made a move to get past him. Gintoki felt the wind rush beside him as she began to run, and in a panic he reached out his arm to grab her hand. “WAIT! Wait, wait, wait, please wait! At least tell me your name, please. I seriously can’t stop thinking about you. I like you. Really, I know I might sound like a creep or whatever, but I don’t care. I just--please, just your name.” Gintoki pleaded, letting go of her hand to turn and face her with hope filled eyes. If she turned him down now, he would take it as a sign to fuck off. He already knew that he was acting no better than that damn shinsengumi gang gorilla leader, but if he was properly rejected, he would accept it and let go. 

Gintoki watched the girl turn to him, face red and eyes wide. He didn’t get a chance to see them before, but looking at them now, they were a familiar shade of blue; _very_ familiar, like he’s looked into these exact eyes before. Upon making eye contact, the girl quickly turned her gaze to the ground, her bangs falling to cover her face.

“...Touko.” She said quietly, then ran off down the street Gintoki had just walked down, not giving him the chance to reply. Gintoki stood there in shock, her name on repeat in his mind. _‘Maybe I do have a chance’_ he thought, a giant grin spreading across his face. As he was about to leave, his foot hit the object that _Touko_ threw at him. Laughing to himself, Gintoki reached down and picked up the bottle of mayo, deciding to add it to his now growing collection. 

.

Gintoki was dreaming. He knew he was because there was _no way_ Touko-chan was laying on his bed blushing, skirt hiked up, barely covering the top of her thighs. Her midriff was slightly showing, and like an out-of-body experience, Gintoki watched his own hand move to touch her. He gulped, feeling the adrenaline course through his veins and heat start to pool in his belly. His hand slowly inched up under her uniform top, hoping to cop a feel of her breast, but instead his hand met nothing--not even a small bud, just a flat expanse of soft skin. Confused, dream Gintoki grabbed the hem of the top and lifted it up completely, only to find a chest similar to his own. _‘What the-’_

His dream self looked up from Touko-chan’s chest to her face, except it wasn’t her at all, but… Hijikata!?

_‘Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. Hold on, Hijikata? Hah? Why is that Shinsengumi dog here! No, no, no, no, this can’t be happening. Oi, dream self! Wake up!’_

Despite the real Gintoki’s protest, his dream self didn’t stop his ministrations, and started to caress Hijikata’s flat chest and tweak at his nipples, rolling and pinching them between his fingers. Hijikata moaned lightly, and the real Gintoki felt himself grow harder at the sound. 

_‘Please wake up, please wake up, please wake up, pl-’_ Real Gintoki chanted and pleaded at his dream self, horrified at how much his body was responding to the dream. Dream Gintoki just continued on, one hand still playing with Hijikata’s chest, while the other started to stroke at his thighs, pushing the skirt up even higher, but not high enough to uncover what was hidden underneath. Hijikata shyly started to spread his legs open in response, a soft “more” escaping his lips. The real Gintoki could feel himself breathing hard, heart pounding a thousand beats per minute, ridiculously turned on beyond belief, and desperate to see and touch what was under that skirt, all rational thought and care out the window. Just as his dream self was about to slide his hand up under Hijikata’s skirt, a loud, blaring sound started ringing in his ear and the real Gintoki jolted awake, eyes opening wide and shot his hand out slamming his alarm clock off. 

“What. The. Fuck.” He said out loud to himself. Gintoki took a few moments to calm his breathing and heartbeat before throwing the covers off of him, and hurried straight to the bathroom to take care of his little situation as quickly as possible. Once relieved, he took a deep breath, hands clutching on to the bathroom counter as he stared at his reflection in the mirror. _‘Okay… So. That just happened. I just had a wet dream about that bastard Hijikata. No big deal. Nope. It doesn’t mean anything. He just kinda looks like Touko-chan, just a little bit. My brain must’ve gotten them confused because they have similar hair... And eyes? I think. Maybe? Argh, I haven’t even seen that bastard in months, why did I dream about that guy when I had Touko-chan right-’_

A loud bang to the bathroom door startled him out of his thoughts. “Gintoki! Why are you taking so long in the bathroom, huh? Are you in there masterbating?” His guardian Otose yelled at him through the door. “Hurry up and get your ass ready for school, or you’ll be late!” She walked away, leaving him to groan to himself in frustration. He’d rather crawl into bed again and have a worthwhile wet dream that didn’t make him feel confused and weird. Not wanting to spend anymore time thinking about it, Gintoki put it out of his mind, and finished getting ready for school. When he stepped out of the house and took a breath of fresh air, feeling the sun’s warm rays on his skin, he felt refreshed. The events in his dream world were going to stay in his dream world. There was no use stressing out about a fluke of a dream, anyway. It’s not like he was gonna run into Hijikata anytime soon, and Gintoki expected that he would just forget about it naturally like one did with most dreams.

* * *

 _‘Again? Really? Really? Can I not catch a break?’_ Hijikata screamed internally as he ran away from Gintoki, again. Dress up as a girl, again. Despite the fact that he swore to himself he would _never_ again play a punishment game, or wear Mistuba’s old uniform, or put his hair up in pigtails, Sougo had a way of riling him up and getting him to embarrass himself all according to his sadistic plans. Hanging out after school at Sougo’s house, they had finished their homework and were deciding what to do next when Sougo innocently suggested playing video games. This time they were playing Super Smash Bros, and Hijikata was confident he wouldn’t lose. After a few rounds where Hijikata had won back to back to back, Sougo suggested playing with a punishment for the loser. He knew he shouldn’t have agreed to it, but the chance for revenge was too tempting and his confidence level was sky high. 

The immediate round after agreeing to have a penalty, Hijikata lost. Badly. He knew from one glance at Sougo and Kondou, their faces matching grins and eyes gleaming mischievously, that he was one hundred percent set up. Lulled into a false sense of confidence, He realized they lost to him on purpose to butter him up, and it worked. Hijikata could expect this kind of betrayal from Sougo, but Kondou? He was shocked.

“Well now, I think you should know what we want you to do as punishment by now. Isn’t that right, Hijikata-chan?” Sougo said, not bothering to hide his sadistic smile as he pulled out the dreaded uniform and hair ribbons from its hiding spot under the coffee table. 

“Toushi!” Kondou cried apologetically. “I didn’t mean to trick you, but papa misses seeing his cute daughter! If you would just wear it willingly I wouldn’t have to resort to these kinds of tactics!” 

“What the hell, Kondou-san!? How long are you gonna ride out the ‘papa’ gag?! Go play house with the Shimura girl and leave me out of it!” Hijikata yelled out, face burning at the idea of having to go out with that damn uniform on. It was bad enough that Gintoki had been wandering around on their turf lately, his ‘disguise’ seen through instantly, no doubt trying to find him. Or rather, find the girl version of him. If he got caught, and Gintoki realized who he really was, he wasn’t sure if he could handle it. 

Hijikata wasn’t dumb; he saw the way Gintoki looked at him when he was in the alley. He looked like some lovestruck fool, rambling on about walking ‘her’ home while making googly eyes at ‘her.’ It hurt to be reminded how Gintoki would never look at him, the real him, in that way. His crush on the silver haired boy had been going strong since _that_ fateful day the spring break before junior high began. He was certain Gintoki had forgotten all about it, but there was no way Hijikata could ever forget.

“Come oooon, Hijikata-chan. Get dressed and get more snacks. It’s not even that bad of a punishment compared to the other ones I have in mind.” Sougo said with a bored tone, bringing him out of his thoughts. 

“Fine, fine. I guess I shouldn’t complain too hard knowing the sick and twisted things your brain comes up with.” Hijikata replied, grabbing the uniform and ribbons and walked towards the bathroom. “But I’m not going all the way to Kabukicho High again. It’s too far, and if I see the same perverts from last time I might end up killing them.” He figured it was late enough in the evening that he shouldn’t run into Gintoki if he just went to the closest convenience store. What would be the odds of running into him in the ten to fifteen minutes it would take for him to run this errand?

.

Apparently, the odds were very, very high. Hijikata could not believe his fate, or luck, or whatever forces that existed in the universe that were working against him this badly. On his way back from the store, he of course had to literally, physically, run into Gintoki with enough force that it knocked him down flat on his ass. He could hear Gintoki talking, and then extend his hand out, but he was still too shocked to respond. Even after he recovered, and responded with something, and picked up all the things that fell out of his bag, Hijikata didn’t know what else to do but make a run for it. While Gintoki was sputtering on about something that he wasn’t listening to, he dug out his trusty bottle of mayo and threw it hard at his head before making a break for it. 

What Hijikata didn’t expect was for Gintoki to reach out his hand and stop him. He was fully prepared to shake him off, but the desperation in his pleading voice made him pause. _‘You really like me this much? Would you really be that happy with just my name?’_ Hijikata thought to himself, before remembering bitterly that it wasn’t really _his_ name that Gintoki wanted, but the girl he was pretending to be. 

For a moment, Hijikata turned facing him, forgetting how bad of an idea it was for his full face to be seen. But even more than he wanted to conceal his true identity, he wanted to see the look on Gintoki’s face after such a confession, wanted to see it in his eyes that he was being honest. The raw sincerity, determination, hope, and slight fear of rejection showed bright in his dark, crimson eyes. As quickly as he had made eye contact, Hijikata turned his gaze away just as fast. He knew it was a bad idea to respond. He would be leading Gintoki on to believe he was a real girl. But before he could even think it through all the way, Hijikata uttered out a feminine version of his given name and ran away, hoping that his decision wouldn’t come back to bite him in the ass. As soon as he was out of sight and almost near the Okita’s front door, the panic started to sink in all over again. _‘What the hell did I just do?!’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I hope this chapter is okay, if there's any mistakes you notice please let me know. I tried incorporating more humor, but idk if I'm any good at it lol.  
> Even though I mention gang fights/violence and wet dreams, there won't be anything graphic happening in this fic!  
> If you're wondering how Gintoki hasn't figured it out, well... he's just an idiot. A little love blind fool.


	3. Chapter 3

Gintoki had figured it out. After spending the next few days obsessively replaying his interactions with Touko-chan in his head, he had put two and two together: she was a _tsundere_. It all made sense now, how she had been so hot and cold with him, the blushing and avoiding eye contact, the running away, the softcore violence, the pigtails! How could he have been so dumb?

“Guys, she’s _sooooo_ into me, right? I can’t believe I didn’t notice it before. You agree, right? She’s definitely into me? Right? Guys?” Gintoki’s need for confirmation went unanswered as his friends were too annoyed with his endless talking about Touko, and too focused on looking through the menu of the family restaurant they were at. It was a Saturday evening, and the boys had decided to go eat out before spending the night at Sakamoto’s house playing video games. And by the looks of it, another group of boys walking into the joint had a similar idea. Being seated at a booth on the opposite side of the restaurant was the Shinsengumi gang’s Kondou, Hijikata, and Okita, who paid their rival gang no attention as they too began to look through the menu. Despite the tension that now filled the air, both gangs remained seated and ignoring the other, all in accordance with their peace agreement. 

The peace agreement between the Shinsengumi and Kabukicho gangs was made after one particularly bad fight last spring break that resulted in the police being called on them, with Gintoki and Hijikata nearly getting arrested. If it wasn’t for the fact that the police chief’s daughter, Matsudaira Kuriko, had a giant crush on Hijikata and begged her dad to let them go, they definitely would’ve been charged. In order to avoid things getting too far out of hand, both gang leaders and their top members met to form the agreement:

  1. Both gangs would stay off each other’s turf to avoid starting a fight.
  2. The main streets in the midtown area between their schools would act as a neutral zone, where neither could instigate a fight. If they saw each other at the movies, a restaurant, store, etc., they should ignore each other and pretend to not know them. 
  3. If there’s a future fight where the cops show up: run. Settle the fight some other time.



It was simple, but necessary to not ruin their future. Prior to the peace agreement, whenever the rival gangs would run into each other, it would naturally escalate to a fight. Without anyone really knowing why, the feud and rivalry between both schools had a long, deep-seated history that pre-dated their own gangs. Even non-delinquent students felt the tension between the two schools, and actively avoided students from the opposing school. However, despite any initial hesitation from some of the delinquents, the peace agreement worked out surprisingly well over the past year. The few times Gintoki had run into Hijikata since the agreement went without a fight, not even an argument. He refused to admit it, but Gintoki missed the fun and thrill of riling him up. Hijikata had the shortest temper, the funniest reactions to his teasing, and he could match Gintoki tit-for-tat in a fight.

“Gintoki, stop staring at them. You know better.” Katsura chided him.

“What? I’m not staring. You’re being paranoid, Zura.” He denied, despite the fact that he kept taking _very_ long glances towards Hijikata. Unfortunately for him, Gintoki has had the same wet dream every night about that bastard, and it was starting to mess with his mind. He figured his subconscious was trying to tell him something, but he didn’t know what. Gintoki hoped that if he just kept looking at Hijikata it would hit him, and suddenly everything would make sense. 

Some time after they ordered, Gintoki watched Hijikata get up and walk towards the restroom. Trying to be as discreet as possible, Gintoki got up as well to follow after him, with the only thing going through his mind the need for answers. He opened the restroom door to find Hijikata washing his hands, his surprised face clear in the mirror as he saw in the reflection who walked in behind him. But in an instant, Hijikata acted as if Gintoki wasn’t there, turning towards the wall to grab a couple of paper towels to dry his hands off. 

“You…” Gintoki started, walking up closer to Hijikata as he took a step back, until he had the other trapped between him and the wall. Hijikata opened his mouth to say something, before closing it and stayed silent, turning his face away and pointedly glared at the ground. Gintoki frowned in response, this was _not_ the reaction he wanted. The usual Hijikata would be yelling at him, swearing, and raring to go fight. They just stood there awkwardly for a moment, with Hijikata staring at the ground while Gintoki stared at him. Finally, Hijikata spoke up: “Do you want something? Or can I go now.”

As Gintoki kept staring at him, a sudden and _brilliant_ idea came to him. “Yeah, uh, do you have a twin sister, or something? Or one like around our age? A cousin even? There’s this girl that goes to Shinsengumi Academy that kinda looks like you.” Gintoki had finally put it together; Touko-chan _must_ be related to Hijikata. That had to be why they looked alike, and why he kept dreaming about him. He watched as Hijikata’s eyes widened and his face turn red, the same way it usually did whenever they fought.

“What? No! I don’t have any of that, I-” Hijikata yelled out before cutting himself off, his brow knitting in thought. “But... I do know a girl that looks like me.” He said in a strangely quieter voice. “Is her name Touko?”

“Yeah! Yeah, that’s her!” Gintoki said excitedly. “Listen, man, I don’t know what else to do. I wanna ask her out, but I can’t find her and I don’t know her number. Do you have it? I’ll give you 300 yen!” He pleaded, and probably would’ve begged if it weren’t Hijikata that he was asking. “I know we fought a lot before, but that’s all in the past, right buddy? We’re cool now, right? Come on, help a poor guy out.” 

Hijikata looked like he was really thinking about it; his eyes closed, brows furrowed, and fist up over his mouth, as if he were contemplating life and death itself. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes and responded, “Okay, fine. But you owe me one in the future.” 

Gintoki was stunned. Shocked. He couldn’t believe the Demon of the Shinsengumi was being _such_ an angel right now, a true God sent help to him. He could practically see a glowing halo and wings on him as he pulled out his phone and read the number as Gintoki created a new contact. Afterwards they both left the restroom, unaware of the multiple pairs of curious and concerned eyes that watched them walk back to their tables. 

“Aha ha ha, Kintoki! What took you so long, were you taking a dump, ha ha!” Sakamoto asked as Gintoki sat back down. He didn’t even realize how long he was gone for, but his slightly melted parfait was evidence enough that it was longer than he thought.

“Oi, it’s _Gin_ toki! How many times do we gotta go over this!” He yelled, feeling exasperated. “And yeah, it was a big one. Monstrous. I was kinda backed up, and needed to make room for my lovely parfait-chan.” Gintoki lied as he dug into his food, hoping his dead fish eyes and blank face wouldn’t give him away. It was _way_ too risky to let out his little one-on-one meeting with Hijikata. He could feel Katsura and Takasugi staring at him with a knowing look, but he continued to ignore it and focused all his attention on his parfait. 

.

Finished with their meals, they headed over to Sakamoto’s house to play Mario Party. After playing for a few rounds, Gintoki got up and called out a quick “Gotta pee” as he made his way to the bathroom. Gintoki had been waiting for the right time to text Touko-chan, but he didn’t want to do it in front of his friends knowing they would grill him about it. Now in the privacy of the bathroom, he sent out the carefully worded text he had been thinking of since the moment he got her number. 

To: Touko-chan <3

_Hey, it’s Gintoki. ;) Ya know, the cute silver haired boy that keeps running into you after your convenience store trips. :) BTW I’m definitely not stalking you, or anything. Really. I got your number from your friend Hijikata, hope that’s okay. I just wanted to see if maybe you’d wanna go out next Saturday to the amusement park. On a date. With me. If you wanted to. :)))_

Gintoki hit send, and released a sigh of breath he didn’t know he was holding. Now that he had sent it, the waves of anxiety and self-doubt began to roll in. But before he could start to panic and regret his message, he got an almost instant reply.

From: Touko-chan <3

_Okay. Train station. 10 a.m. Don’t be late._

Gintoki blinked. And blinked again. And then it hit him that he had a _date_ with the girl he was in _love_ with, and started screaming at the top of his lungs because he was so happy. A happy scream that was short lived as Katsura banged on the door yelling, “What’s wrong, Gintoki!? Did you get your ***** stuck in the zipper? Once I got mine stuck, and there was so much blood-” Gintoki immediately opened the door, a shudder going down his body, not wanting to hear such a nightmare-inducing story. “No my ***** is not stuck! I just, um, thought I saw a ghost. Yeah, I definitely thought I saw Hanako-san reaching her hand out to me. But she’s not here, so. Everythings fine!” He explained awkwardly as they both walked back to the couch, and picked up their controllers. He wanted to text Touko-chan more, but knew he had to wait. For the rest of the night, he could hardly focus at all on the game, losing left and right, but he didn’t care. He just wanted Saturday to hurry up and come.

* * *

Hijikata couldn’t believe what he was actually about to do. Despite the fact that he definitely _wasn’t_ into crossdressing, here he was, willing to do it again. He had a plan, and in order for it to work, he needed to be out as Touko, and for _that_ to work, he needed some girl clothes. He would rather walk right into Kabukicho High and confess his love than to go ask Sougo to borrow Mistuba’s uniform; so instead, his plan was to ask the girl in the apartment a few doors down if he could borrow a dress. His neighbor Kyuubei was a tomboy who almost exclusively wore boy’s clothing; she even managed to get permission for her school uniform to be the gakuran rather than the standard sailor one. Hijikata knew she had at least one dress though, due to him once seeing her forced to wear one when her extended family came to visit. Out of anyone he could think of to help him without completely judging him, he knew he had to go to Kyuubei, even if they weren’t exactly great friends. 

After ringing the doorbell and waiting for a few moments, Kyuubei answered the door, confusion painted on her face upon seeing him. “Hijikata-kun, can I help you with something?” 

“Um... Would you mind if I borrowed a dress, please. I kind of got myself into a situation, and I, um, need to pretend to be a girl.” He answered lamely, losing confidence in his plan with each passing word. “Just for a few hours, I’m gonna go buy my own set of girl clothes, but I don’t wanna look weird going out as, uh, myself.” He tacked on, hoping that the further explanation would help.

Kyuubei looked hard at him for a few seconds, before she just sighed and said, “Yeah, sure. You can come in while I go get it.” Relief flooded through his veins, and Hijikata thanked all the forces in the universe for letting at least this part go right. He stepped through the doorway and waited awkwardly for Kyuubei to return with the goods. 

“So what exactly is your little situation that you need a dress for, anyway?” Kyuubei asked casually as she emerged from her bedroom carrying a light pink dress with sakura blossoms patterned across. 

“It’s kind of a long story. I can tell it to you another time, if you actually want to hear it.” Hijikata said back, hoping she wouldn’t press further. He wanted to get his plan in motion, and having to explain everything would take a while. 

“Yeah, that’s fine. But before I let you borrow this, can you do me a favor too?” Kyuubei asked, a slight blush dusting her cheeks. “This Friday night I’m hanging out with Tae, and, well... could you keep that gorilla on a leash, if you know what I mean.” 

Unfortunately, Hijikata knew _exactly_ what she meant. “Done. Consider your date stalker-free.” At the mention of the word _date,_ Kyuubei’s face lit up bright red. Without saying anything else, she handed over the dress, and Hijikata left to go change in his apartment. Finishing the look off using some left over white ribbon from a christmas present decoration, he fixed his hair into two twintails and left, trying to ignore the anxious thoughts and self-doubt floating around his head reminding him about everything that could possibly go wrong. 

The plan he had in mind might not be the best one he’s ever had, and he couldn’t say if in the long run it would be worth it, but right now it was the best he had considering the situation he was given. When Gintoki cornered him in the bathroom asking about Touko, he knew he had to take the opportunity right in front of him. So he gave out his own number pretending that it was hers. Hijikata didn’t care anymore, he was _going_ to go on a date with Gintoki; his gender be damned, his pride be damned, his reputation as the demon of the Shinsengumi be damned, all he wanted was to have fun with the boy he liked, and maybe hold his hand, and _maybe_ get kissed. He would never have a chance like this again, so why not take it? Was wanting a little happiness so wrong? If Gintoki was dumb enough not to catch on by now, then as long as Hijikata kept up the act, he wouldn’t get caught. Hopefully. 

.

Hijikata couldn’t rely on using Kyuubei’s only dress or Mistuba’s old uniform, so phase one of the plan was to go shopping on a weekday after school, hoping that a Tuesday evening wouldn’t be particularly busy in the shopping district. He was going to go straight to _Mademoiselle’s,_ the cute and girly boutique that Mitsuba always liked to go to, sometimes dragging Sougo or Hijikata there with her to hold her bags as she shopped. It was the only women’s clothing store he was familiar with, so he thought it was best to buy everything he needed there. He walked into the store, glad to see no other customers. It seemed like he would be able to get in and get out without any fear of running into someone he knew. 

As Hijikata browsed through the store, picking up a dress here and there that might look nice on him, he didn’t notice as another customer walked in shortly after him. It wasn’t until he accidentally dropped the bracelet he was contemplating buying, and watched as it rolled a few feet away from him, did he notice the new customer. Without really looking at the other, Hijikata made a move to pick up the bracelet, just as the person in front of him did too, resulting in their hands grasping each other’s on top of the item. 

When Hijikata made eye contact with the customer across from him, instead of shouting out a loud and confused shriek, he bit his tongue and screamed _‘Katsura?!’_ inside his head. As per the peace agreement, he was supposed to ignore or pretend he didn’t know the boy, since the shopping district was in the neutral zone. Not that he could say anything, really, because Hijikata was too shocked to speak upon seeing the fearsome Katsura Kotaro _also_ crossdressing. His long hair usually worn straight down was now in a low side ponytail, his clothes a stylish, matching lavender top and skirt, complete with trendy accessories.

Both boys were frozen in place as they looked at each other, clearly knowing who the other was. Neither made a move to speak or even escape, and probably would have continued their distressed staring contest if Mademoiselle Saigou herself didn’t come up and place a hand on each of their shoulders saying, “Do you two lovely ladies need any help? If you want to try on those clothes, I can help you two to a dressing room.” Not giving either a chance to reply, Saigou ushered them to the back of the store and placed them in adjacent rooms. “When you have everything on, please come out and show me! I would love to see how those dresses look on such pretty girls!” 

Now alone in the dressing room, Hijikata weighed his options. He could drop everything and make a run for it before Katsura came out of his dressing room; he could stay in the dressing room forever until he was kicked out; or, he could try on one of the dresses he had, come out and face the fact that he had been seen by one of the _worst_ possible people he could have run into. After thinking about it for a minute, Hijikata just signed in defeat thinking, _‘Fuck it, let’s just see where this goes. I didn’t come all the way here to not get what I wanted. Since he’s crossdressing too, maybe this can be a secret just between us. Option three it is.’_

Putting on a pale blue dress he thought complimented his eyes, Hijikata slowly opened the dressing room door and stepped out to see Saigou standing there still waiting. Upon seeing Hijikata changed, she said, “Oh my, what a lovely dress! That color looks great on you, don’t you agree with me, Zurako-chan?” 

Hijikata turned to see Katsura, or rather _Zurako-chan_ , out of the dressing room as well, now wearing a dark purple dress that matched his makeup. At the sight, Hijikata thought _‘Damn, he’s committed’_ and made a quick mental note to also add makeup to his list of things to buy. 

_“Sooo_ lovely.” Katsura responded in a cutesy voice, while making a pointed look at Hijikata. He returned the look, a silent reminder about the agreement falling between them.

“And don’t you think Zurako-chan looks beautiful as well, young lady?” Saigou asked him.

 _“Sooo_ beautiful.” Hijikata replied mimicking Katsura’s tone, his eyes still locked with the other, trying to figure out why exactly he was here crossdressing too. He knew very little about his rivals' personal lives, and this was a chance to learn something potentially useful for the future.

“Ah, you know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in my store before.” Saigou started, “Won’t you tell me your name, young lady? As the owner of this little boutique, I like to make a personal relationship with all my customers so I can understand their personal style.”

“It’s Touko.” Hijikata responded carelessly, immediately regretting saying anything as he watched Katsura’s eyes widen in shock and realization, and he knew he had fucked up. _‘Of course Gintoki would tell his friends about Touko. Of course he would. Shit! Shit, shit, sh-’_

“Oh! So _you’re_ Touko-chan.” Katsura said with a knowing smile, eyeing him up and down. “I’ve heard so much about you, won’t you accompany me for tea after this? I would love to get to know you better.” 

_‘Not like I have much of a choice, asshole.’_ Hijikata thought. Mustering up the fakest smile he could, he replied, “Of course, Zurako-chan. That sounds just lovely!” In his head, Hijikata was gagging at how fake his sickly sweet voice sounded, reminded of every catty girl fight he had ever seen. He was positive Katsura was going to use this to exploit him and the gang, but if he could leverage the fact that the other was also caught crossdressing, maybe he could work something out.

They both returned to their respective dressing rooms, and Hijikata slowly tried on the remaining dresses he had with him, trying to stall as much time as possible. Satisfied and finally finished with trying everything on, he emerged out with the three dresses: one pale blue, one burgundy, and one white with little pink strawberries patterned across. Said strawberry dress may or may not have been chosen knowing a certain silver haired boy loved strawberry milk. He wanted at least three outfits, just in case. Adding a few bracelets, a simple looking makeup kit, and a basic black purse to his purchase, Hijikata confidently felt like he could pull off being a cute, dateworthy girl. That is, if he could still manage to go on his date without Katsura ruining his plan. 

Without saying anything to each other, Hijikata followed Katsura out of the store and down the street to a small cafe. Once they had sat down and placed an order for a pot of green tea, Katsura waited for the pot to arrive and started the conversation as he poured them both a cup. Hijikata braced himself for the worst.

“So… After all these years, I would have never guessed that you and Gintoki would be star-crossed lovers.”

 _‘Wait, what!?’_ Hijikata almost spit out his tea in surprise. _‘What does this moron think is going on!? We’re not Romeo and Juliet!’_

“I thought it was strange how all of sudden Gintoki had started talking about a girl he liked, why you both were meeting up in that restroom, but now I see I was worried for nothing. It was all just a cover up to hide the fact that you two are together. I always had a suspicion from watching the way you two would fight so intimately, it’s no wonder your passion on the battlefield would translate into the passion of love. But sadly, there’s no way the Shiroyasha of Kabukicho and the Demon of the Shinsengumi could come out as dating, right?” Katsura chuckled lightly to himself, so pleased to have figured it all out, despite not figuring anything out. “So you two came up with an elaborate way to go public without getting caught. Ah, but don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. I don’t want another fight breaking out over something like this.” 

Hijikata went from amazed at Katsura’s stupidity, to mortified that he could tell from how they _fought_ that Hijikata had a crush on Gintoki, to pleasantly surprised at how well he was taking it. 

“Yep! You figured us out! No wonder you’re the brains of your gang, ha ha!” Hijikata responded, laughing awkwardly through his lie. “But, um. Let’s just keep this between us girls, okay? Don’t mention it to Sakata. If he, uh, knew that someone found us out, it would be all a waste, right?”

“Right, of course. Sisters before misters! Romance before bromance! Girl code before Bushido code! I’m with you all the way, Touko-chan!” Katsura yelled passionately, clasping Hijikata’s hands with his own in camaraderie, completely ignoring that they were in fact two boys, and rival gang members at that. 

The two _girls_ chatted for a bit longer as they drank their tea, where Hijikata learned that Katsura was also a member of the theater club, and _Zurako-chan_ was a recurring character of his, along with a space pirate captain, a DJ, and a samurai. It felt weird to have enjoyed tea with someone who once set a playground park on fire and nearly got them all killed from a makeshift bomb they created, but Hijikata was letting bygones be bygones. Once they finished, both boys parted ways to go home. Hijikata smiled to himself as he walked, grateful to the forces of the universe for the way his confrontation with Katsura went, blissfully unaware of a pair of discerning maroon eyes watching him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I hope you like this chapter! Even though it's not as humorous, there were a lot of things that I needed to set up before the final chapter.  
> This took so much longer to finish than what I had initially expected, and I had some trouble with Hijikata and Katsura's part, and the overall flow of the chapter, so if it reads weird at parts let me know!  
> More than likely, the next chapter will be the last :( but I hope you've enjoyed it so far, and look forward to a happy ending :)


	4. Chapter 4

It was the Friday night before the big day, and Gintoki was trying hard to act normal and not panic over it. Him and the boys were at Sakamoto’s house watching Alien v. Yakuza, while casually eating snacks and talking throughout it. As much as he didn’t want to, Gintoki decided to tell his friends about his upcoming date, hoping that they could help him calm his nerves and maybe even give him some advice, despite the fact that none of his friends had gone on a date before either. 

“So, guys. I um, have a date tomorrow.” Gintoki said casually, trying to play it cool and not make a big deal out of it, even though it definitely was.

“Oh~ with  _ Touko-chan, _ right?” Katsura replied, putting extra emphasis on her name and sending him a knowing wink, confusing him.

“Uh, yeah? Who else would it be with? You know Ketsuno Ana blocked me on all social media, and everytime I’m near her she says loudly that ‘libras will have bad fortune and be kicked in the balls.’ And there’s no way I would go out with that damn stalker girl either.” Gintoki said back, eyebrows knit in confusion as he tried to figure out Katsura’s weird reaction.

“Gintoki, you know you can tell us about  _ Touko-chan _ whenever you’re ready. You don’t have to hide  _ her _ from us.” Kastura said, again adding strange emphasis when talking about her and sending him a more exaggerated, knowing wink. 

“Okay,” Gintoki said drawling the word out, face scrunched in confusion. He knew Katsura could get dumb, weird ideas in his head, and he guessed this was just one of those times. “Anyway, so, yeah. I got a date with Touko-chan tomorrow... It’s at Bisneyland. You guys have any advice, or anything?” He was positive they didn’t, but hoped that maybe they could say something useful.

“Don’t shit your pants on the rides.” Takasugi offered, his expression bored and uncaring.

“Oh! Don’t wander off and get lost, ha ha! Mustu hates when I do that, ha ha!” Sakamoto chimed in, laughing to himself.

Gintoki just stared back at them with his blank face and dead fish eyes. “Thanks guys, what would I do without you.”

“You need to make it the most super lovey-dovey, heart throbbing, butterflies-in-the-stomach inducing, ultra romantic date to ever exist!” Katura said with determination in his voice, and his eyes burning passionately. Grabbing Gintoki by the collar, he continued “For Touko-chan! Don’t hold back; give it your all, Gintoki!”

“Okay, okay! Geez, why are you so excited about this all of the sudden, Zura? I thought you didn’t even want me to go after a girl from Shinsengumi Academy, and now you’re telling me to go all out for her? Huh? What’s with you?” Gintoki questioned as he pushed off Katsura. 

“There’s no way I could be against two star-crossed lovers coming together! The passion! The romance! The drama! The taboo! It’s all there, how could I not support you two?!” Katsura said enthusiastically, with stars in his eyes as his mind wandered off into some delusional fantasy. Gintoki decided to just ignore him for now. 

He was already planning to have a super lovey-dovey date anyway, convinced he needed it in order to win over Touko’s heart completely. So far, the plan is to meet her at the train station, buy their Bisneyland tickets, take cute pictures with the rat mascot, ride on all the rides, win her a stuffed animal from a game booth, and then end the night on the ferris wheel where they would have their first kiss and emerge as boyfriend and girlfriend. It was fool proof, completely romantic, and he knew it would all work out perfectly. Hopefully.

Gintoki had tried texting more with Touko since the day he asked her out, but she barely replied to anything he sent her. He knew she wasn’t the talkative type from before, and hoped that her lack of response was just because she was shy and quiet, and not because she was ignoring him. He sent her a quick text about the date, hoping that she would at least reply to that.

To: Touko-chan <3

_ Hey it’s Gintoki :) We’re still cool for tomorrow, right? You’re not gonna back out, right? I mean, not that I’m trying to pressure you to go or anything. Like if you can’t or something comes up I get it. But like... we’re still good, right? You still wanna go on a date with me? _

Gintoki sent the text, and immediately felt pathetic rereading it over again. Before he could send her another text to try and explain himself better, she responded.

From: Touko-chan <3

_ Yes. We’re good. _

Gintoki let out a sigh of relief. Maybe he was stressed out over nothing. He glanced over at his friends who had turned back to watching the movie, and thought it was best to just continue watching too to keep his mind off everything. 

. 

Gintoki was dreaming. It was the same dream he had been having every night for almost the past two weeks. At this point, it felt like he was just going through the motions, every movement and reaction was the same--except tonight. Instead of waking up when his hand moved to push up Hijikata’s skirt, his hand changed course and traveled up towards his face.  _ “This is new,” _ Gintoki thought to himself with renewed interest in the dream. 

Dream Gintoki’s hand delicately cupped Hijikata’s blushing face, and watched as the other’s eyes slowly closed shut, his pink lips puckering slightly in anticipation.  _ “Oh no. No, no, no, no, please don’t do what I think you’re gonna do.” _ Gintoki thought, pleading to his dream self but knew it was useless.

Unwillingly, he leaned down with eyes half-lidded and adrenaline coursing through his veins as he kissed the boy beneath him. It felt surprisingly soft and  _ good, _ and the real Gintoki didn’t feel as bothered by the sensation as he thought he would be. They’re lips separated slightly and rejoined again, over and over, to the point that Gintoki lost track of how many times they kissed, each time feeling better than the last.

His body felt restless; content with the stimulation, but not satisfied. The dream Gintoki pressed his lips harder, and sneaked out a sliver of tongue to caress gently against the other’s mouth. Hijikata hummed in response, opening his mouth to roll out a soft, wanton “Gintoki” that had the real him feeling desperate to hear it again.  _ “Hijikata-” _ he started in response, but before he could finish his thought, he was once again jolted out of his sleep by the alarm ringing next to him. He groaned loudly, and moved to turn off the alarm. 

Unlike the other mornings he would wake up after that dream, instead of feeling confused, Gintoki just felt unsatisfied. In a daze, he slowly lifted his fingers to his lips, feeling them as if looking for a sign or confirmation about what just happened. Whatever his subconscious was trying to do or tell him, he just wasn’t getting it. Or at least, that’s what he kept telling himself when he would wake up from his Hijikata filled dreams. But Gintoki had other, more important things to think about instead of Hijikata--like Touko. There was no one else he was willing to wake up at 7:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning for, except for her. Even though they weren’t meeting until 10 a.m., he wanted to take his time to get ready and look good, before getting to the train station early. This is his only chance to impress her, and he wasn’t going to waste it. 

* * *

It was the Friday night before his date with Gintoki, and the same Friday night Hijikata had agreed to keep Kondou from stalking Otae so Kyuubei could hang out with her in peace. He knew that in order to keep Kondou away from her for the night, Hijikata was going to have to do something drastic, but fortunately he was desperate enough to not care as much about the immense shame and embarrassment he was about to put himself through for the sake of keeping his promise. He told Kondou that if he came over to his apartment Friday night, he would dress up and play along with his weird family fantasy. He actually just wanted to get an opinion on what to wear for his date and this happened to be the perfect opportunity to get it, but there was no way in hell he was going to tell Kondou that.

“Toushi!” Kondou cried, as Hijikata opened the door for him to enter his apartment. “Papa is so happy you want to have father-daughter bonding time!”

Hijikata rolled his eyes as Kondou picked him up into a crushing hug. “Kondou-san, I’m not even dressed up yet.”

“I just can’t believe you’re actually going along with this, Toushi. What made you change your mind? Don’t tell me, you discovered a secret love of crossdressing!?” Kondou questioned, looking at Hijikata expectantly with excitement spread across his face.

“No, dammit!” He yelled out in frustration. “I just, um... I want to go undercover and see what the Kabukicho gang is up to. I feel like they’re plotting something, and I want to know what. I’m sure you’re aware their leader has been wandering on our turf lately; it’s just suspicious.” Hijikata explained, hoping Kondou wouldn’t question him further, like, as to why he would need to buy multiple dresses, accessories, and makeup for a simple undercover mission.

“Toushi…” Kondou trailed off, his eyes getting serious. “I should’ve known, you’re always thinking of the gang and our strategy, but don’t go doing anything unnecessary. You of all people know why we have to be more careful now, why don’t we send Yamazaki to find out what Gin-san’s been up to?”

“There’s no need, this is something I can do myself. And I don’t want to send Yamazaki, everytime he tried to spy he’d mess it up somehow! Remember that time he dropped his school ID in front of everyone at one of their meetings? Plus, he’s still banned from the Ginza shopping center because the security guards thought he was a peeping tom!”

Kondou seemed to pause at that, and then let out a defeated sigh. “Alright Toushi, I trust you and whatever plan you have. Just keep your guard up and run if things go bad.”

“Yeah, I will, thanks Kondou-san... But, um. Don’t tell the other guys about this,  _ especially _ Sougo. I’d commit seppuku if any of them saw me crossdressing, so let’s keep this just between us. Okay?” Hijikata wasn’t sure he could exactly trust Kondou to keep his mouth shut, especially if Sougo started to pester him about it, but there was nothing else he could do but have some faith in his leader. 

“If that’s what you want, then okay. I won’t tell anyone else.” Kondou replied, and then made a zip motion across his lips for emphasis. “By the way, where’s your brother at? Is he here?” Kondou questioned, turning his head to look around the apartment.

“No, he’s out at a company drinking party and will be back late.” He replied.

Hijikata started living with his older brother Tamegoro when he started junior high at Shinsengumi Academy. Originally, he lived with his parents and brother out in the countryside. Despite Hijikata being thirteen years younger than his older brother, they were very close and attached to each other, and he was devastated when Tamegoro left the countryside to start college. Their parents had agreed to let him go visit and stay with Tamegoro in the city during the summers while he was a student. To help pay for his school fees, Tamegoro began a part time job helping out at the Kondou family dojo, and would bring little Hijikata with him for kendo lessons. It was there that Hijikata met his current friends, Kondou, Sougo, and Mistuba. Once Tamegoro graduated and started working full time, he discussed with their parents about enrolling him into the Academy nearby his apartment for a better education. 

The spring vacation before junior high began, a young Hijikata with his hair grown down a few inches past his shoulders rode the train into the city with a little suitcase and backpack, ready to live with his brother and start school with his friends. Hijikata was old enough to have a flip phone, and when he texted his brother about his arrival to the train station, Tamegoro let him know that he was running late, but would be there soon.

Hijikata sat on a bench outside of the station, hugging his backpack to his chest and swinging his legs as he waited. Some time passed before a man Hijikata had never seen before came up to him. 

“Hello… Hijikata-kun, right? I was sent to pick you up.” The strange man said with a friendly smile, but something about him creeped Hijikata out. 

He gave the man a defensive glare and said, “I don’t know you. I’m waiting for my big brother.”

The man let out a light chuckle, responding, “Of course you are! He sent me here to get-” before the man could finish, a young boy with a silver mop of hair ran charging towards him screaming with all his might, leaped into the air and hurled a kick to his jaw, cutting him off and sending the man flying head first into the nearby bushes. Hijikata’s eyes widened at the scene and gasped, as his heart began to pound faster in his chest.  _ “So cool” _ He thought, his eyes lighting up as he watched the boy kick the man in the bushes a few more times for good measure, before getting up and dusting himself off. The boy turned to him, his crimson eyes drawing Hijikata in, making his stomach feel like there were butterflies in it. It was something he had never felt before.

“Are you okay? That’s the same pervert that tried to take Kagura-chan at the park yesterday before she knocked him out. I guess he didn’t learn his lesson.” The boy said, then pointed at Hijikata’s backpack. “Is this supposed to be your name? I can’t read the kanji, but perverted adults will take advantage of seeing that and use it to act like they know you! A cute girl like you should be more careful!” 

Hijikata blushed, embarrassed that he was mistaken for a girl and saved like some damsel in distress, but before he could respond, his brother came running up to them yelling, “Tou-chan! There you are, I’m so sorry I was late!” Upon noticing his brother, the boy took it as a sign to leave.

Stunned by what had just happened, Hijikata just sat there unmoving, voice caught in the back of his throat as he watched the silver haired boy run off without any final word. He didn’t understand why he felt the way he did, but he knew he wanted to see that boy again. 

As the two brothers walked away from the station, Tamegoro asked, “Are you okay? Who was that boy just now?” 

Little Hijikata shook his head in response saying, “I’m not sure… but I wanna find out.”

The buzzing noise from his phone brought him out of his thoughts of the past, and saw that he received a text message from Gintoki. Hijikata didn’t have much experience texting people other than Sougo or Kondou, so he never really knew how to respond to the stream-of-consciousness texts that Gintoki would send him randomly throughout the week, and hoped that he wouldn’t be so awkward talking with him in person on their date as he was in text. He sent a short reply while smiling to himself, happy that Gintoki seemed just as nervous and excited as he felt. 

Now in his bedroom, staring at all three dresses laid out on his bed, Hijikata realized he might have overreacted just a _ little _ bit, but really, at the time he was just trying to be as cautious as possible. He had bought three dresses in the very extreme event he would have to meet Gintoki before their date, the day of the date, and the day immediately after the date, in which he needed at least three outfits to seem like a believable, normal high school girl. But now, having to choose which one to wear on the date seemed impossible, and that’s where Kondou’s help would come in. 

Hijikata put his hair in two ponytails with white ribbons, and slipped on the pale blue dress first. He applied the makeup he had practiced every night since buying it: some shimmery nude eyeshadow, mascara, light blush, and pink lip gloss for a ‘no makeup’ makeup look. A part of him hated that he looked pretty, and hated that he  _ liked _ that he looked pretty, but another, deeper part of him loved it. After seeing how Katsura was crossdressing openly without a care made him feel less embarrassed about wanting to do this. Less afraid of not looking tough or strong, or not living up to his reputation as the Demon of the Shinsengumi by acting like a girl. Doing this no longer felt like it was just to go on a date with Gintoki, it felt like a part of him was opening up somehow to be less rough, less guarded, and less thorny. 

Taking a deep breath and opening the door, he walked out into the living room, an embarrassed blush spreading across his face as he saw Kondou’s jaw drop. 

“Toushi… you look amazing, you really look like a girl!” Kondou got up from his seat on the couch to get a closer look. “You even put on makeup? When did you even learn how to do that?”

“Mistuba told me about some of the beauty vloggers she follows on MeTube before, so I just looked them up and followed a tutorial. Does it... look weird?” He felt unusually bashful now that the moment of truth was here. 

“No, it looks great! Papa is so proud of his little Toushi growing up~” Kondou said as he fake wiped a tear from his eyes. 

Hijikata internally groaned at the embarrassing reply, but was grateful for Kondou’s honest opinion. He mumbled a quiet thanks before going to get the other two dresses. He held them both up next to him, and then switched back and forth each dress in front of himself so Kondou could judge which one was better.

“Ah Toushi, I dunno they all look so cute on you. Why do you need to choose between them again?” 

“Because, well... you know I’m doing this to go undercover, so I have to look my best. And believable. Obviously.” The question caught Hijikata off guard. He was counting on Kondou to not be very perceptive about his predicament. 

“Hmmm, well I think you look believable in all of them. Just choose the one that you feel is right, I know you’ll make the best choice.”

Hijikata looked at the dresses again and sighed. Deep down he knew which one he  _ really _ wanted to wear, but it was too embarrassing to admit. He knew he bought the strawberry dress with Gintoki in mind, knowing it was the perm-head’s favorite, and he wanted to wear it on the date just for him. He was stupidly envious of the fruit.  _ He  _ wanted to be Gintoki’s favorite, even though he knew that would never happen, they were never going to be together, and that this date would be their first  _ and _ last, and that after this he would put his crush and Touko to an end. His last selfish hope was that maybe the next time Gintoki drank strawberry milk or ate a strawberry parfait he would remember the girl in the strawberry dress and think that she was sweeter. 

“You’re right, Kondou-san. I know which one to pick.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay sooo wow. Long time no post :( I had this like 80 percent finished back in april but didn't like what I had wrote, and now I finally figured it out as i'm trying to procrastinate all of my homework. School and the pandemic have been kicking my booty, so I probably won't have time to write the final chapter until winter break, but I will definitely finish this fic!!
> 
> I hope yall like it, the next chapter will be the big date and hopefully the end! If theres any part of the plot that doesn't make sense to you or if you see a grammar error please let me know!


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